Even middle schoolers still enjoy experimenting with bubbles! They execute a series of experiments enabling them to distinguish between convex and concave surfaces, explore the properties of buoyancy, surface tension, and density,...

Address key vocabulary in the seventh grade Common Core Math Standards with this comprehensive list. A series of word cards is also provided that supports each term with images and examples, making this an excellent tool for teaching the...

Third graders complete a classroom game used to build understanding of two and three-dimensional shapes. Diagonals, sides, regularity, congruency, angle measurements, parallels, perpendicular, faces, and edges are a few of the vocabulary...

Trace the links between a variety of math concepts in this far-reaching unit. Ideas that seem very different on the outset (like the distance formula and rigid transformations) come together in very natural and logical ways. This...

Geometers explore the concept of tessellations. They use a tessellation applet to manipulate shapes and design their own tessellation using the applet.

A geometry game that resembles Battleship is the foundation for hide and seek where "hiders" draw shapes on coordinate planes and "seekers" must guess the shape and its location based on questions and clues. Reproducible, paper-sized...

Shapes are so fun! Little ones explore, identify, and create shapes using tangrams or pattern blocks. The activity is intended to stimulate critical thinking while engaging learners through play and shape identification. Each child will...

Most adults remember learning about the Pythagorean theorem, but they don't all remember how to use it. The emphasis here is on developing an intuitive understanding of how and when to use the theorem. Young mathematicians explore...

Students explore botany by completing an art design activity in class. In this gardening history lesson, students identify the plants and crops utilized in the Colonial era for both food and medicine. Students utilize geometry to create...

Venn diagrams are helpful in understanding the idea of a set and using attributes to sort items. This basic plan is an introduction with an added bonus of an applet that can be used to demonstrate the activity. If a classroom of...

Parallelograms are pairs of triangles all the way around. Pupils measure to determine the area and perimeter of a parallelogram. They then find the area of the tirangles formed by drawing a diagonal of the parallelogram and compare their...

To take the longest path, go around—or was that go over? Class members measure scale drawings of a cylindrical vase to find the height and diameter. They calculate the actual height and circumference and determine which is larger.  

Students see how to identify regular polygons, how to slide, turn and flip polygons, and why certain polygons tessellate better than others. Groups create a one foot square design to be used to tile the classroom. Great lesson!

Transform your lesson on transformations. Learners use given congruent triangles and tracing paper to determine the single transformation that carries one to the other. The concept is extended to combinations of transformations to...

Seventh graders participate in a polygon hunt.  In this polygon lesson, 7th graders examine how polygons are alike and different.  Students create a Venn diagram and label the sorting circles.  Students work in cooperative...

While the lesson plan focuses on right triangles, this activity offers a great way to practice the area of all triangles through an interactive webpage. The activity begins with the class taking a square paper and cutting in in half; can...

Pupils design a fence for a backyard pool. Scholars develop a fence design based on given constraints, determine the amount of material they need, and calculate the cost of the project. 

If members of your class wonder where they can use the math they learn in middle school, let them discover the answer. Learners apply geometry concepts of scale and measure to calculate the costs of framing a house addition.

It's the stairway to learning! Scholars research all aspects of building a staircase. Using information from building codes, they write and graph a system of inequalities to analyze the constraints. The completed project is a scale model...

Prompt scholars to complete a magic square using only variables. Then they can attempt to solve a numerical magic square using algebra. 

It's all about lines when going around. Pupils graph the relationship between the length of a side of a square and its perimeter. Class members explain the origin in context of the side length and perimeter. They compare the graph to the...

Graph A goes with equation C, but table B. The short assessment task requires class members to match graphs with their corresponding tables, equations, and verbalized rules. Pupils then provide explanations on the process they used to...

Model good modeling practices. Young mathematicians first learn about cross sections and solids of revolution. They then turn their attention to special right triangles and to the Laws of Sine and Cosine.

Turn your class upside down as they explore the reciprocal functions. Scholars use the unit circle to develop the definition of the secant and cosecant functions. They analyze the domain, range, and end behavior of each function.